steeevooo Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Weekend in Port Stephens with a bunch of friends and a few boats. Some of us fishing, others just cruising or skiiing, towing donuts etc. Day 1: headed out just after sunrise and made the trip out to Boondelbah Island. Conditions weren't the best, but not too bad. Circled the island a few times, came across loads of slimies and bonito. Then moved across to the headland to try along Shark/Fingal Island. There we drifted across a few underwater peaks we picked up on the sounder, where we found bigger bonito mixed in with schools of kings. Landed 5 kings and a bunch of bonito. Kings were all undersized and released to fight another day. Great fun bringing them in on light gear! We were fishing unweighted baits of slimeys and pilchards, which were getting hammered on almost every pass. Headed back in the afternoon, only to find that the boat had taken on some water, so called it a day. Day 2: conditions were a fair bit rougher, so we decided to stay within Port Stephens itself. Fished around Boandabah island this time. Conditions were pretty windy and choppy, and we weren't there very long, as sadly the trip was cut short when we realised the boat was taking on even more water than the previous day. Lucky I installed a bilge pump! Got back to the boat ramp and after inspecting things discovered a crack at the bottom of the hull. The crack being across a weld which the previous owner must have done to repair it in the past! Will be taking it to fabricators/boatbuilders and asking them to repair and re-enforce it good and proper. On the downside, it'll be off the water for a little while until I get around to it, on the plus side I found the source of the leak! Cheers to Scratchie for some tips he gave us on the area. We didn't end up using them much but it was a great starting point. The folks are Ufish Brined Baits in Heatherbrae also gave us some good advice, and their bait was excellent! Highly recommend them. Definitely returning up there sometime. The fishing seemed great and wildlife plentiful. We saw dolphins, sharks, turtles, dingoes. Didn't take any photos of the bonito but got a few of some of the kings 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolts1 Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Great report Steeevoo, those kings are really fun on light gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Great Report and Photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Good stuff steveooo! It’s a beautiful part of the world. Glad you had a good time up here! cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smobaby Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Good Report looks like you all had a good time shame about the boat. If you need help with repairs PM me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61 crusher Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Good report & photos of your weekend away, bummer about the boat but at least you got amongst the fish & saw plenty of wildlife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeevooo Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 Cheers guys! Now to remove everything so I can take the floor out and then have fabricators/boatbuilders patch up the crack and re-enforce it. Might fill the sides under the floor with expanding foam while I'm at it for some backup buoyancy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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